Q: Is there any advance information
available for future versions of Unicode?

A: Yes, there is always summary information posted in
Proposed New
Characters. As proposed characters for future versions are accepted
by the committees for the Unicode Standard and for ISO/IEC 10646, they
are listed there. As characters get closer to final standardization,
they will also be listed in more detail in preliminary charts, as those
become available. Links to many proposal documents can also be found via the Unicode
roadmaps. You may also wish to follow changes in
Public Review Issues and
monitor the
Unicode Mail List for information on beta releases and other
announcements.

Q: Where do I find the information on how
to use newly encoded characters for the Unicode Standard?

Q: Where do I find information on how to
use proposed characters for future versions of the standard?

A: Those characters are not yet standardized, and have not
yet finished their rounds of international ISO balloting. Implementers
must be very cautious about trying to implement tentatively accepted
characters before their final publication. However, information about
the proposed characters is generally available in the working proposal
documents. Anyone can browse the
L2 document list
which contains new character proposals.
Public proposal documents can also be found at
the JTC1/SC2/WG2 site, or at Michael
Everson's standards site. Links to many proposal documents can also
be found via the Unicode
roadmaps.

Q: Will there be an official beta period
for future proposed characters?

A: Yes. There is always an announced beta period, for
public review of the accompanying data files of the Unicode Character
Database, before final release of a version of the standard. Beta
periods and periods for other public review issues are posted on the
Public Review Issues page.
You can periodically monitor that page and watch for changes.

A: Publication dates are announced on the Unicode website. New major versions are scheduled for annual release in June or July, with the publication of the core specification as soon as is feasible after the publication of the Unicode Character Database and the Unicode Standard Annexes for that version.

Q: Will the next version of Unicode also be
published as a book?

A: Version 7.0 of the core specification can be ordered as a printed copy through a publication on demand service. See information here. The schedule for future publication on demand editions is uncertain.